Walking into the Silence

The more I slow down and listen the more I notice the racket around me. The first big step was when I stopped smoking and drinking. While at the time I didn’t know they were helping me distract myself from my higher purpose it became evident in their absence. I didn’t have an alcohol problem. Problematic drinking occasionally, sure. I think that in our kingdom of Budweiser that it would be hard to find many who didn’t exhibit problematic behaviors in some area; sex, drugs, shopping, TV, alcohol, music to name but a few.

This week I walked away from consumable media that is not directly furthering my study for two weeks. I’m not playing online games, or watching TV. I’m not obsessively checking email, or social media. I decided to do this because I was feeling the need to go deeply internal and I noticed that it was hard to focus on myself when there were so many eager distractions.

Then I noticed how much of my time they were sucking down; much more than I realized. The artificial noise was just loud enough that I couldn’t hear myself crying out for attention. This winter has been rough with long, stubborn colds, and a sense of exhaustion. I wanted to feel better and be able to show up more for life so getting more well was the obvious solution.

I’ve learned that I have to face myself in order to be of best service/ to really show up to live my highest purpose. In our conversations, my self whispers back its response. So then I dial the noise back and listen again, intentionally walking into the silence to listen more deeply to the subtleties of the unique song that is me.

Little knowings come through during meditation and in those moments of synchronistic bliss during the day. By quieting down my environment of noise in the form of social media I’ve already noticed a huge difference in the amount of time I spend online, and how much less is wasted. I know myself as artist, creator, designer during these times and what is unfolding is truly beautiful so far.

Won’t you join me in walking into the quiet? Becoming more comfortable with the sounds and pace of nature around us until that hum and whir is loud again and the quiet is the spaciousness of our minds.